slapped on the arm...as in jest? Any video of this event...maybe some corroborating witness? Sounds like the Pro-Paul Guy that stepped into break things up got an entirely different view of what happened than you did. He seemed to think the other guy started it. I wonder if your view of what happened wasn't a bit slanted, as your report comes across as somewhat...unhinged.

First, I will say that this screed is libel, and I should hope that the Patch acts accordingly, or attorney's will be getting involved. That said, here is the real story from "Superman" himself.

To contextualize, the invocation Mr. Vermette gave was the most inflammatory and unChristian invocation I have ever heard. In a nutshell it was, "There are 2 groups here, one which has shown up out of malice and spite. There are those here tonight who do not klnow respect or unity, and have signed up to run out of spite. Dear Lord, please open their hearts and teach them respect and unity....Thank you Jesus." This is the tone that was set for the meeting, and a great way to welcome new folks and ensure they feel warm and welcome. Then, immediately before the incident, it was stated that while an invitation was extended to those who wanted answers and to discuss the illegal acts which were perpetrated by the Central Committee on March 17th at the March 19th Republican Club Meeting, that the invitation was meaningless as they attempted to adjourn the meeting prior to taking any questions from guests, and when it was noted that an invitation was extended, this followed: http://youtu.be/T-qW2fl48u4 Immediately after this occurred, I hear a young man behind me tell Mr. Dwight Vermette, "Thank you for that prayer. That was a first, I have never heard a Christian invocation where the Lord Jesus's name is used to actually spite another particular group in attendence. That was disgusting"

This is completely ridiculous and irresponsible. I'm not quite sure why you all feel so threatened by the "Ron Paul people" we all have names and are citizens of this county just as you are. You don't even seem to care what has motivated us, and why we are more involved. You don't even care to ask what our principles are. We are not the ones committing fraud at the caucus. Were we? We played by the rules. As citizens of Jefferson County, we have every right to participate. I was very insulted by that invocation, and as it was uncalled for. We were invited there, and will have a long term presence in the county. I won't apologize for not falling in line behind you all, as we have principles that we stand for and we have a lot of support, and have the people of Jefferson County first in mind. Good luck.

I was in attendance and would argue that were your story true, arrests would have been made. It only shows stupidity on your part to generalize an entire group by the (alleged) actions of an individual. To those of you reading who live in Jefferson County, please join us in voting against current committee members like Linda Van De Reit on August 7, 2012.

Yes, her opponent for Republican Committeewoman for the Meramec Township would be Nicole Bradley. Hence, Linda's propensity to interject Nicole's name into the fallacious story she scribed above(even though she misspelled it). :) I hope this helps Linda learn some new vocabulary and possilbly spelling skills. It will help in her future endeavors at writing the fiction she so loves to put out!

The grammatical errors definitely are hard to take in for sure. There is a more rational way to present facts, but when you spout lies, you have to sensationalize it, because you are trying to make yourself believe it too.
I'm disappointed that you think we are thugs, when at the caucus, I was called a nazi repeatedly by an elderly woman, because we had a slate of delegates for a candidate that we were there to support. How hard is that to understand?
I was called other bad names by the woman in front of me because we chose not to drop our principles and vote for a slate of delegates that did not include a candidate that we can support. How hard is that to understand? That same woman balled her eyes out during our "no" vote, and told us that we would be the reason Obama gets re-elected.
We all signed the list that we were true and faithful Republicans, and the reason we did not support the other slate was because the other Presidential Candidates are not true and faithful Republicans.

"When peaceful revolution is impossible, violent revolution becomes inevitable." Anyone know who said that? I can't remember, but feel that it's as appropriate as anything else.

I'm still in shock over the meeting and how they treated the people they said would be 'welcome' to attend club and committee meetings. I didn't know their 'welcome' would expire before the meetings even took place.

Truth is, we were told up front at the club meeting there would be NO discussion of the caucus; if we wanted to talk about it, we would have that opportunity at the committee meeting, which was a lie. They took our info on a sign-in sheet, put our faces to our names by having us stand up and identify ourselves, then photographed us during the meeting. When the time came to get some answers, they adjourned the meeting after telling Josh Dunn to 'go ask the MoGOP,' and dismissed us like yesterdays garbage.

I wasn't pleased with what transpired afterwards, but young people in this country that know what's going on with our economy, the failing monetary system, the endless wars, the over-spending, the loss of freedoms, and the lack of opportunity due to over-regulation and taxation, leaves the younger generation feeling hopeless and desperate. When you add our national debt and lack of a budget to the heap, it's enough to break their spirit altogether.

That's what the Republican Committee did to all of us. Good job growing the party, folks. Hope it was worth losing my vote.

ms vandereit
how dare you deliver such an inflammatory generalization of Paul supporters. First I am a professional liscenced in the state of Missouri. I have a college degree and have 2 successful businesses including my position weigh this great county. I am older, mature, and educated. Hardly the description that you Linda, describe. Before the caucus, I was about 80 percent sure who I would support. after I had witnessed the behavior of my fellow " mature" community neighbors, it was clear to me' that there is only one candidatenthat I stand behind. I can not in good conscience , be a part of a group that alienates the passion of our youth. Those that remain stoic in their ideals without ever considering that their could be a bright light coming from a difference of opinion that could make us all better citizens. Your behavior has catapulted me' to a new level of zeal.. So I thank you and all who were involved in bending the truth and showing your true colors. it made me' a fervent patriot that day. and , oh yes , a Ron Paul supporter!

sorry for the errors in my post . As I am " mature", my eyes aren't so good any more nor am I the most proficient at texting from my phone in a moving truck... on my way to Church. God Bless EVERYONE!

grammarical errors! Lol.

Matt Hay's assessment of my invocation is correct--it was un-Christian, and I couldn't agree with him more. I have asked God for his forgiveness, and, since then, I have been reaching out to those in attendance to ask for their forgiveness. I am deeply troubled by the hurt and anger my actions and words caused in allowing my emotions to take hold of me. My true prayer is that we put this behind us; recognize that all of us have much more in common than a few differences; amicably resolve those differences; and all stand as one to confront those who seek to purge our Country of those God-given values upon which our Country was founded.

Again, my sincerest apologies and respect to all.

Dwight Vermette

I was not in attendance, so I do not know what transpired. You stated that Mr. Hay's assessment of the invocation was accurate but, Mr. Vermette, what about Ms. Van de Riet's version of what happened, is that accurate? You make no mention which rendition of the story is closest to the truth.

ms. Van De Riet, under what theory do you think the venom that you spew is appropriate, welcoming, non judgmental, Christ-like, and Republican? I am a resident of Jefferson County. I am an educated mature older woman who has earned and holds a national license which allows me to go anywhere in the US and work. I have chosen to stay in Jefferson county and pay taxes here. I am also related to the "young thug" you refer to in your headline above. You are spiteful and offensive. You have not only offended this young mans family, but also the rest of the folks who you have blindly included in your post. I also attended the caucus. It was my first time and as a good citizen, I felt compelled to get more involved. However, the old, stoic, staunch and stubborn members of our community threw a temper tantrum and committed unethical nonsense to discourage the Paul supporters and get rid of them. They are an EMBARRASSMENT and so are you.At least, Dwight is apologizing. Don't you think it's about time you did also? No one even bothers to ask a Paul supporter why they support him. If you took the time, perhaps a new light would be shed to make all of us better citizens. A message to all the ELECTED officials in Jeffco: DO NOT GET TOO COMPFORTABLE in the seat that has molded itself to your nether region. Elections are coming up!

A step in the right direction, Ms. Van De Riet, would be to delete your post. It's the "right" thing to do for starters. Secondly, un-purse your lips and open them for an apology.

Don't hold your breath, L. Norman because you'll be keeling over way before you hear an apology from me. I will never apologize for what was an apparent attendance at the meeting to cause more problems and I don't apologize for the truth. As far as elections are concerned, bring it on. I'm just as ready as all of you. If you're all so big and bad, why couldn't you get little Mattie elected to the Arnold Council again? Because you did the same thing to innocent people as you have done throughout the entire caucus process and that is to twist people's intentions and write ignorant lies about them. All of you that have posted on my blog remind me of a bunch of Pomeranians, all yapping at once and saying nothing. Again as I've stated in the past, Ron Paul is losing and his followers are helping him to lose with their crazed antics toward people that disagree with them. As far as the election, do you really think I care if I'm on the Central Committee? It'll just be fun running against Nichole. You all make me laugh! The Central Committee is there to help Republicans get a seat in the County. When the TRUE Republicans are gone, the monetary support will be gone as well. You think with all your attacks on Republicans, that anyone with any amount of money would help your group get people elected? Really? I know better!

Don't worry, L. Norman, just about everybody in Jefferson County by now, has figured out that Ms. Van de Riet lives in a fantasy world. Even when Mr. Vermette admitted his invocation was inappropriate, Linda cannot accept that fact and admit she was wrong and her missive was mostly fiction built on a slight grain of truth. She cannot admit that she embellished the story to make things sound more dire than they actually were.
If she was not concerned with all of the "yapping" as she claims, all of our posts would still be on the Politigal Republic facebook page. Alas, they along with the truth have all been removed. So much for that "freedom of speech" she speaks so
highly of. ......

sorry l. van dereit,
I am a MAMMA BEAR...Not a pommeranian! I am SO looking forward to meeting YOU!